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National Polygamy Advocate, Mark Henkel, said, "With the ongoing events and consequences of the government raid of the Mormon-based FLDS in Eldorado, Texas, most media reports have been typically missing one of the most important facts about the story. The overall national polygamy rights movement for consenting adults has repeatedly disavowed the FLDS, its convicted criminal leader, Warren Jeffs, and the entire underage issue." Providing links to news releases with more details, Henkel offered the critically important explanations for the media to use, and he has made himself available for interviews.

when it comes to polygamists

Past News Releases

National polygamy rights leader, Mark Henkel, who is the Founder of the (non-Mormon) TruthBearer.org organization, offered clarity and balance to all media reporting on the raid of the Mormon-based sect in Eldorado Texas, the FLDS. Said Henkel, "As we have always made clear, the national polygamy rights movement for consenting adults has always opposed the FLDS, its leader Warren Jeffs, and any underage marriage. Although the government tactics of the raid itself raise very alarming and troubling questions, that does not change our view of the FLDS itself. The FLDS do not represent polygamy, polygamists, or the polygamy rights movement whatsoever."

Henkel explained, "We encourage a real investigation for real facts. For anyone spending any amount of time on the internet, such investigation makes it very quickly evident that the FLDS are definitely not even part of the polygamy movement. There is Christian polygamy, secular polygamy, Muslim polygamy, and others, as well as Mormon polygamy. Most normal polygamists around America do not live in isolated communities. Actually, most normal polygamists are more typically the only polygamous family in their entire town, city, or suburb. While the FLDS may be perceived as being one form of the different forms of Mormon polygamists, the self-isolated FLDS are not part of any polygamy movement. Anyone can quickly check it out: the FLDS have no web-site. Their sect has issued no press releases for polygamy rights. They do not actively promote polygamy rights in the marketplace. The FLDS have no 'movement' activity for even qualifying for the word 'movement' in their own right. Under no valid definition of 'polygamy movement' can any self-isolated rogue sect be legitimately identified as somehow representing polygamy or the broader national polygamy rights movement for consenting adults. That fact is even more especially true due to the fact that the actual polygamy movement has totally rejected them because of the underage issue.

"Even so," Henkel added, "and despite the fact that most Texas law enforcement in the case -- and even some ex-FLDS activists - have all correctly said the raid has nothing to do with polygamy, many in the media have still routinely sensationalized the story exploiting the 'polygamy' angle. Thereby, such sensationalism libelously implies that supposedly 'polygamy equals child abuse.' Yet it is precisely because consenting adult polygamists oppose child abuse that the national polygamy rights movement for consenting adults has always stood against the FLDS."

Very few media reports, however, have conveyed that fact.

Putting that missing fact in context, Henkel analogized with this sound-bite, "In media reports, normal Catholics would never be defined by the priest abusers, normal teachers would never be defined by Mary Kay Letourneau, normal dieters would never be defined by anorexics, and normal Christians would never be defined by the Jonestown suicide cult of 1978. In all those types of news stories, the media would rationally be sure to also include a national organization to make its case that those extremes and criminals do not represent the normal people around the country."

But "when it comes to polygamists," Henkel continued, "many media reports about the FLDS raid have typically failed to report the national polygamy rights movement's view. The well-documented and easily-found clarification from our established national polygamy rights organization, TruthBearer.org, has even been noticeably absent from many reports."

Henkel explained, "The consequence is that every Child Protective Services (CPS) worker across America is being misinformed that polygamy is, by default, somehow 'about' child abuse -- when it is not. And that threatens any household with three or more adults -- whether polygamous or not -- based solely on some anonymous 'person's' suspicions. Are all Catholics and teachers child abusers? Are all dieters a threat of starving their children? Are all Christians a threat of committing murder-suicide with their children? Of course not. In the same way, all normal consenting adult polygamists are not a threat to their children either."

With that, Henkel requested, "For every media outlet, and for every CPS worker everywhere, we ask for the real facts to be reported, known, and understood. The national polygamy rights movement for consenting adults has always opposed the FLDS and the underage issue. Normal consenting adult polygamists oppose child abuse. The children of normal consenting adult polygamists are not in danger. Even though we greatly question the specifics of government tactics and justifications for the raid, we continue to stand - as we have always stood - against the FLDS and the underage issue."

Henkel concluded, "Just as the 'mainstream' Mormons routinely get their clarification in news reports that they have disavowed the FLDS, accuracy of media reporting equally requires that our national polygamy rights movement's disavowal be added too."

To further assist news organizations in future reports, the TruthBearer.org organization offered the following links for articles previously sent to news outlets through the media-distribution site, Pro-Polygamy.com. The three linked media-articles provide more specific details and insights about these facts. First, the op-ed provides in-depth details revealing how the FLDS have never been part of the polygamy movement and are, therefore, more appropriately identified as a "Mormon Sect." Second, the special report provides numerous media-quotes and newsworthy sound-bites made by Henkel opposing the FLDS, Warren Jeffs, and underage marriage, with such media sources as the Associated Press, CNS News, and CourtTV (before it became TruTV). Third, an official press release from the TruthBearer.org organization provides many details as to how the FLDS' convicted criminal leader, Warren Jeffs, was always opposed by the national polygamy movement. All media outlets are invited to use those reports for reporting, research, or quotations, as well.

TruthBearer.org is the non-Mormon, cross-denominational, evangelical Christian Polygamy organization. It has been reported by the 700 Club, The Associated Press, The Washington Times, CNS News, Newsweek, CourtTV, NBC's TODAY Show, and many more, as noted at http://www.TruthBearer.org/media/ .